Paula Vales

Researching 4 different topics

Now that week 1 is over, I will be looking at the topics I want to research into, ready for the presentation on Monday, week 3.

19th Century Plastic Surgery

Why I chose this topic: I chose to look into this topic as I was initially sparked curiosity through a Norwegian film called “The Ugly Stepsister”, a black comedy and body horror. It explores the theme of wanting to be desired, to do anything for the person you cherish. The protagonist Elvira, does horrific things to her body so that she gets noticed, from breaking her nose without anaesthesia, swallowing a tape worm to sewing longer eyelashes to her face.

History of plastic surgery, the time period and why it was used

Mentions of plastic surgery was used to fix a broken nose as early a 1600 BC. In 1213 BC, plastic surgery was used on corpses for the afterlife. Mourners of an Ancient Egyptian King called Ramses II, had a large and long nose, had a surgically inserted bone and seeds into his nose to ensure he was recognised and received as a king in the afterlife. Fast forward to the 19th century, plastic was first used to describe cosmetic surgery by German surgeon Karl Ferdinand von Graefe Ramsay Health Care (2025).

However, the history of aesthetic surgery began in 1845. when Johann Friedrich Dieffenbach (1792-1847) reduced the sizes of large noses through external incisions. Unfortunately, there are no illustrations of his works. Through his work, he was considered the “father of plastic surgery”. F. Mazzola, MD (2015).

Dieffenbach: A dive into the father of cosmetic surgery

Through his first strabismus operation, he became internationally known. Dieffenbach was truly among the greatest surgeons of his time and is considered the founder of plastic surgery. CIHAT OKAN ARIKAN (2021).

Through this client, it aided Dieffenbach’s reputation in 19th century Berlin. There was once this young woman who frequented social balls between 1831 and 1832. She had attracted considerable attention and that was because she hid behind a golden mask. The young woman was called Elvira Tondeau, her secret was that she hid multiple lacerations and legions on her nose- which was assumed to be the cause of tuberculosis. Because of Dieffenbach’s surgical knowledge, he was able to amend her nose within a few sittings. Roughly a year later, Elvira was able to enter a much publicised engagement. As a result of his accomplishment, he was immortalised into a folk song that claimed he “makes the nose and ears like new..” CIHAT OKAN ARIKAN (2021).

How did surgery become more safe?

In 1846 at Massachusetts General Hospital, William Morton became the first person to have successfully administer anaesthetic to a patient. A year later in 1847, James Young Simpson became the first person to administer a chloroform anaesthetic… to himself. However, ether was replaced with this anaesthetic but was then found out to have caused heart and liver toxicity, which was then later withdrawn. The British Association of Urological Surgeons Limited (2025)

Parasocial Relationships

Why I chose this topic: I wanted to look into this topic as I find it so fascinating how delusional people can be when interacting or talking about their favourite celebrity / influencer. To be more specific, I’m more interested with East Asian parasocial relationships or people from the west indulging in EA content. This is because after watching so many video essays I find that high volumes of parasocial relationships happen in the East, especially in places like Japan, South Korea and China.

Why we form parasocial relationships

Although there is no proper reasoning as to why we form parasocial relationships, we can gather information and clues. Our brains are programmed to be social, and when that time spent being social is on social media, TV, or online apps, we begin to recognise faces that are being constantly shown to us and possibly develop warm feelings toward them. Psychology Today Staff (2025)

Another cause is due to loneliness. Studied show that if the individual struggles with loneliness, the more likely they will engage in a parasocial relationship in order to fill the void. However, there are some studies out there that contradict this. Rachel Forster has found out that individuals that are more social, are also most likely to form parasocial relationships. Psychology Today Staff (2025)

The Korean idol industry

Notes from a video:

Fancom – A system in which the fans manage their idols growth. This includes fundraising, donating to charity etc. Practices also incorporate fans feeling compelled to police the content on social media that is something that’ll ruin the idol’s image. They will spam certain keywords in order to change the algorithm to make certain keywords trend instead of the scandal. Aini (2023)

Saesang – A term used in South Korean to describe a fan that oversteps their boundaries.

In 2023, there was a scandal involving a fan sneaking in an NCT suite. This fan had recorded the crime from start to finish. SM Entertainment had responded to this and they would be taking legal actions. Aini (2023)

Salem Witch Trials

Why I chose the Salem witch trials: This pocket of time had bewildered me as to how on Earth a small town could have acted purely on mass hysteria. It was most likely due to the religious culture in this time period but I believe it also had some levels of misogyny as well.

Context on the SWT

Notes from a video:

Period lasted from February 1692 – May 1693. Salem was settled in 1629 by puritans; a gorup of English protestants. Accounts described that 12 girls were afflicted. 4 of the girls accused 3 local women of tormenting them. These 3 were considered outcasts in some way. Brian A. Pavlac (2020)

Tituba denied harming the girls at first but then slowly confessed to have practiced witchcraft under the devils hand. Osbourne died in prison while Good’s husband and daughter shunned her away. She then gave birth in prison but the baby died not long after. She was then hanged. Brian A. Pavlac (2020)

Why were only women being accused of witch craft?

In Europe, more than 70% of the accused were women and in Scotland, 84% of the accused were women.

There are many possible reasons for this. One of the reasons were that during this very Gof fearing time period, women were traditionally thought of as being weaker than men. In the biblical story of Adam and Eve, it was Eve who was tempted by the devil; And so it was thought that women would be more of a risk of being influenced by Satan. BBC Bitesize (2022)

What were the signs of being a witch?

1. You are a woman
2. You are too poor
3. You are too rich
4. You have one or more woman friends
5. You’ve had a disagreement with one of you friends
6. You’ve had a disagreement with someone
7. You are too young
8. You are too old. beckmann (2015)

Parisian Catacombs

Why I chose the catacombs: I wanted to look deeper into this topic as I don’t entirely understand how it is possible to have an entire city underneath Paris / other cities and have it somewhat accessible to the public.

What are the Parisian catacombs?

The Parisian catacombs date back as early as the 18th century. In 1809, it was open to the public. The construction of the catacombs started due to the overcrowding of the cemeteries. This caused a major public health problem and this led to the decision that the bodies from the cemeteries be transferred to the city underground. Paris chose a site located outside the former capital: the Tombe-Issoire quarries due to how easily accessible they are. The first evacuations were made from 1785 to 1787. Les Catacombes de Paris (2018)

Are the catacombs dangerous?

The legal, regulated part of the catacombs are not dangerous at all for the public as you’ll have guides with maps and will most likely be in well illuminated parts of the catacombs. However, this is not the case with the illegal tunnels. First thing to keep in mind is that the network of unmapped territories is easy to get lost in. These tunnels stretch up to 600km with 7 different levels. Grupković (2019)

If you don’t come in prepared with gear and suitable clothing, it can go all sorts of bad. There are no light sources in the tunnels, so you would have to provide that yourself and if your batteries run out, you will be completely engulfed in darkness with slim to no chances of getting out. Grupković (2019)

Even so, if you manage to find an experienced guide that will take you to the illegal tunnels, not all of them will always have good intentions. There are multiple stories of these people where they take people down to the catacombs and then run away. There are also stories of “mole people” stealing their belongings. Grupković (2019)

Who are the mole people / cataphiles?

Mole people are the people who live in subterranean parts of major cities. They can be found in abandoned subway lines, sewers, flood chanels, or heating ducts. They are homeless but despite their harsh living conditions, they have managed to make a home for themselves. EBSCO Information Services, Inc. (2025)

Animals in Space

Why I chose animals in space: I wanted to look further into this topic as I thought it would be interesting to find out what humanity has managed to send up into space and what happened to these animals, before and after their training, all for the betterment of human technological advances.

List of animals that were sent to space:

1. Fruit flies
2. Monkeys and apes
3. Mice
4. Dogs
5. Tortoises
6. Frogs
7. Spiders
8. Fish
9. Tardigrades. Harrison (2025)

Quick history of animals sent to space

Notes from a video

Fruit flies were the first things that were sent to space, these insects were sent to space first to check for radiation. They came back alive. A year later, they decided to go from insects to mammals, the animal that was sent to space was a monkey called Albert. This monkey died before it reached space. However, another year later, they sent another monkey called Albert II, he managed to reach space but then died on impact on the descent due to the parachute not deploying. Sam O’Nella Academy (2019)

4 more monkeys were sent to space. Albert III exploded in the aircraft whilst Albert IV and V died due to the parachute not deploying in time. Albert VI successfully made it and so did the 11 mouse house mates, but then he shortly died due to his container over heating whilst waiting for recovery. Sam O’Nella Academy (2019)

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Brief conclusion: During my research, I have found out many things I did not previously know. The more curious I am about a topic, the more I want to look into it. However, as there was quite a few topics, I needed to research the things I was most curious about. As we are only allowed to have 4 topics, I have decided that my final line up will be: catacombs, animals in space, parasocial relationships and Salem witch trials.

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References

Aini (2023). Parasocial relationships in East Asia: A look into obsession. [online] www.youtube.com. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2Iy-WKeZrU [Accessed 1 Oct. 2025].

BBC Bitesize (2022). What sort of people were accused of being witches? – BBC Bitesize. [online] BBC Bitesize. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z9y7m39#zyx4kty.

beckmann, leah (2015). 17 Signs That You’d Qualify as a Witch in 1692. [online] Mentalfloss.com. Available at: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/55276/17-signs-youd-qualify-witch-1692.

Brian A. Pavlac (2020). What Really Happened during the Salem Witch Trials – Brian A. Pavlac. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVd8kuufBhM.

CIHAT OKAN ARIKAN (2021). History of Facial Plastic Surgery in Europe. [online] EAFPS. Available at: https://eafps.org/history-of-facial-plastic-surgery-in-europe [Accessed 1 Oct. 2025].

EBSCO Information Services, Inc. (2025). Mole people | EBSCO. [online] EBSCO Information Services, Inc. | www.ebsco.com. Available at: https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/social-sciences-and-humanities/mole-people.

F. Mazzola, MD, R. (2015). Commentary on: The 19th Century Origins of Facial Cosmetic Surgery and John H. Woodbury. [online] Academic Oup. Available at: https://academic.oup.com/asj/article-abstract/35/7/890/2589236 [Accessed 16 Oct. 2025].

Grupković, A. (2019). What makes the catacombs in Paris so dangerous? Is it safe to walk through them? [online] Quora. Available at: https://www.quora.com/What-makes-the-catacombs-in-Paris-so-dangerous-Is-it-safe-to-walk-through-them [Accessed 19 Oct. 2025].

Harrison, C. (2025). 10 animals that have been to space. [online] www.discoverwildlife.com. Available at: https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/animals-in-space.

Hesketh, J. (2023). The Fascinating Evolution of Cosmetic Surgery: A Journey Through Time | Better Body Cosmetic Group. [online] Better Body Cosmetic Group. Available at: https://betterbodyclinics.co.uk/the-fascinating-evolution-of-cosmetic-surgery/ [Accessed 1 Oct. 2025].

Les Catacombes de Paris (2018). History. [online] Catacombes. Available at: https://www.catacombes.paris.fr/en/history.

M. Felix Freshwater (2015). Joseph Constantine Carpue and the Bicentennial of the Birth of Modern Plastic Surgery. Aesthetic Surgery Journal, 35(6), pp.748–758. doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/asj/sju157.

Ng, W. (2024). Everything to know about the catacombs in Paris. [online] TripAdvisor. Available at: https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Articles-ldvGnWsUgXEc-What_are_the_catacombs_paris.html [Accessed 12 Oct. 2025].

Psychology Today Staff (2025). Parasocial Relationships | Psychology Today United Kingdom. [online] www.psychologytoday.com. Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/basics/parasocial-relationships.

Ramsay Health Care (2025). The History of Plastic Surgery. [online] www.ramsayhealth.co.uk. Available at: https://www.ramsayhealth.co.uk/blog/cosmetic-surgery/the-history-of-plastic-surgery.

Sam O’Nella Academy (2019). Animals in Space: A Brief History. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbV_pDwKfZQ [Accessed 29 Aug. 2019].

The British Association of Urological Surgeons Limited (2025). 19th Century | The British Association of Urological Surgeons Limited. [online] www.baus.org.uk. Available at: https://www.baus.org.uk/museum/1325/19th_century [Accessed 1 Oct. 2025].